Otherworld
by poisonsugardreams
Summary: A new team is introduced, and as time passes, the cursed Jessie and James realise that Team Rocket isn't exactly the organization they thought it was. Join Phi and Chev on their mysterious mission...
1. 00  Prelude

**Prelude: Otherworld**

Two figures, shrouded in darkness, evaded the rich librarian's alarm with little trouble. One breathed heavily, bent over with his gasps for air. The other scarcely breathed at all, determined to make no noise at all.

Both had evidently succeeded in whatever it was they had come for; the small one revealed sharp, white teeth which glinted in the weak moonlight, and snickered with satisfaction. "Excellent, Chevil," she whispered. "We have successfully stolen the book that Giovanni asked for."

"Otherworld," the other answered. He raised calm, blood-red eyes to the sliver of moon which showed itself that night, then locked gazes with his partner. "The book reputed to reveal the true nature of – "

"Hush, Chev," their Bannette answered. "You may wake the owner with your chattering."

"Yes, we must take our leave of this place," the girl said as well. "And never come back, for any fool knows, like lightning, you must never return to the place of a crime."

With that, the two took off, and the young man hesitated for a moment, examining their prize. "But are we really committing a crime like this...?" he mused quietly. After a second's thought, he raced after his companions.

The only thing they left behind was a withered nightshade bloom and a motto, lost to the silent winds of that night.

Be afraid of us, our foes

For once again, the moon glows

To unleash the beasts within us

To crumble all goodness like stardust

With all the fierceness of a wild rose

We take poetry and reveal its prose

Phi!

Chev!

Now join forces with us, say yea

Or else prepare yourselves for a fray

Oui, c'est vrai!


	2. Chapitre 01

**Chapitre Un. Black heart?**

The first thing Jessie remembered about that morning was that she felt something that she was unaccustomed to feeling, but had always been there... the second was that she felt James was in some kind of danger.

She rolled over, shaking the sleep out of her ice blue eyes, steeled for a day of evil. She sat up, yawned, and glanced over. James was sleeping quietly, a look of innocent peace on his face, the look he seldom showed besides his sleeping hours. His hand curled near his face, his gentle breaths shifting the small cowlick flopped carefully in his face. Definitely not in any kind of danger, unless you counted nightmares.

She sighed, unused to making such lengthy psychological examinations of people, and got out of bed, preparing herself for the day. Suddenly irritated that James and Meowth got to sleep when she herself had to get up, she whipped around and opened her mouth...

… and then stopped herself as her partner began to whimper. Rolling her eyes, _such a wimp_, she thought, _really_, she approached him quietly, completely unprepared for what would occur next, because she knew he was just sleeping.

James cried her name and screamed for help.

Jessie froze.

He never had nightmares this bad. _What's going on?_

James screamed even louder and began to thrash. His partner immediately grabbed his wrists and shook him; she had never been so scared. But for him, or _of_ him...?

She didn't have much time to contemplate her indecision, because suddenly James stared at her with scared emerald eyes, trembling with sheer terror.

"What... happened...?" she managed to choke out, but he could sense her concern long before she had voiced it, raw with fear and... love?

He turned away, trying to keep a measure of manly pride, despite himself. "It's nothing, Jess."

Meowth yawned loudly and wandered over. "What's goin' on?" he asked, but once he saw the exchange, his eyes slitted. "Anudda nightmare... ?" he muttered.

_He hasn't had one since I first spent the night camping with him in our training! And now he's been having them every night. What kind of cruel Dialga or Palkia could do this to him?_

Jessie harrumphed, then turned away. "Well, hurry and get up, then," she ordered. "We can't waste any time with extra sleep."

James' eyes softened at the hardening of her voice, something he expected and came to love, since she didn't mean any real harm. "Yes, Jessie, right away," he answered.

A sixteen-year-old boy and a girl who looked to be about thirteen sat a distance away, perched gracefully on top of a tree limb. With them the silhouettes of a Mightyena and a Bannette could be seen, if one looked hard enough. It was one of the girl's triumphs, the skill of hiding in the open.

"They're cursed, all right," the girl sighed. Her soft grey hair grew to her shoulders, while two long spirals of it curled out of the top. She placed a rose in it, fuchsia as poison. Her eye was violet, the right one shielded by an eye-patch for unknown reasons. Where human ears were supposed to be, she had those of a wolf, she even had the tail of a wolf. She wore a long-skirted, frilly doll's dress, black as the night. Emblazoned across the front, like a warning sign, was the familiar red 'R'.

"I can't tell," answered Chev. "I trust you on matters like this, Phi, so I hope you're right."

Phi answered him with a venomous grin. "When, oh when, dear Chevil, have I ever been wrong?"

"No spirits surrounding them or anything, Phi," Bannette piped up. "Are you sure about this?"

"No doubts, just shut the hell up," she snapped.

"Oo," Chev flinched. His hair, half black, flipped over above his eyes, the other half red, spiked to the side. His ears were studded with earrings, and he wore skinny jeans, combat boots, and a Rocket jacket over a too-small white v-neck.

"_Someone's_ got a potty mouth," Bannette mumbled.

Chev sighed, and leaped down after her.

"Be afraid of us, our foes!" Phi cried.

Jessie and James both perked their ears and turned her way. Meowth interjected with a "Hoih?"

"Oh, it's just a talking doll," Jessie said, unafraid. Which was more than could be said for James.

"But, Jessie, that's kind of scary," he whimpered, hiding under his lavender hair and clinging tightly to her arm.

Phi growled, baring her sharp teeth, and shook her fist at them. "I'm not a f**king doll, you twits!" she hissed. "Take this, pastry head... _Blaze Kick_!"

_Pastry... head?_ Jessie wondered. _What the_... _of all the weirdest_... Suddenly she felt herself shoved aside. She looked up to find herself behind James somehow. Facing a hurtling doll with a foot moving so fast it had lit on fire. "James, _no!_" she screamed, trying to move him. But somehow, he had become unmovable. And somehow, even weirder, he had managed to become a different personality altogether. But a simple change in personality couldn't protect him from this new threat.

"Phi, _NO_!" Jessie turned at this new voice. James, sensing himself out of danger, passed out, and it was Jessie's sheer luck that she was able to catch him before he hit the ground.

Chev raced after the doll-like girl and was finally able to stop her as they tumbled to the ground together. "Phi, that's the last time I'll allow your temper to hurt someone, I swear! _Don't hurt my master!_"

"Your... your master?" Jessie and Meowth cried in surprise.

"Chevil, get off of me," Phi said calmly from under her partner's arm.

It was then that Jessie noticed that James' heart had stopped beating.

"James!" she screamed.


	3. Chapitre 02

Okay, here we go! I still haven't gotten to the plot... BUT I WILL SOON! I _promise_! Also, this is a somewhat longer chapter. Sorry to annoy. Oh well.

**Chapitre Deux. Red string and a Pikachu.**

Jessie stared at James' still face, horrified with the revelation that he might be dead. Even though he hadn't done anything so particularly dangerous as to warrant death... "Jimmy, can ya hear Me-owth?" the Scratch Cat next to her prompted. She gently shook him awake, sighing in relief as his beautiful green eyes opened.

But his heart still wasn't beating.

"Hmm," Phi said, musing. "Interesting."

Jessie then dropped James and turned on the newcomers. "Whaddaya mean, _interesting?_" she snarled. "Who are you, anyway?"

Phi grinned with delight. "Be fearful, though you're not our foes!"

Chev sighed and hung his head, then joined in. "With weakening effects, the sun glows."

"To unleash the memories of you!"

Careful to rhyme, but not to reveal their mission, Chev replied, "To... to prevent blasting off to a royal blue!"

"With all the fierceness of a wild rose..."

"We take poetry and reveal its prose."

"Phi!" The doll called out her name.

"Chev!" Her partner as well.

"You're already part of our alliance..."

"So this, infighting, prevents!"

"Oui, hey, wait a minute, you didn't leave a rhyme for me!" Bannette protested.

"Youse mighta just revealed yaselves as fellow Rocketers..." Meowth began.

"But you haven't told us anything about what you're doing here!" Jessie finished. Phi frowned and turned away slightly.

"Sorry, that's confidential information."

"And what's all this about James being your master..." James chose this moment to lift his head and shake the exhaustion out of himself, clearing his eyes of fatigue.

"Chevil?" His eyes widened, taking in the unexpected sight of the red-and-black-haired teenager. "What – what are you doing here? And you, Ophelia?" Phi flinched, avoiding his sight.

"You're just as dimwitted as ever," she retorted fiercely.

"Phi, don't talk to Master that way!" Chev protested. "Are you all right?"

James shrank back and scrambled away, an embarrassed flush on his cheeks. "Chev, I'm not your master anymore!"

"Wha –" Jessie looked down at her partner, shivering as he hunched on the ground. "James, you _know_ these two?"

"Suffice it to say, yes," he nodded in affirmation. "Chev was my personal servant when I was a child. A homunculus bonded to a vampire, if I remember correctly. His creator's totally unknown, but he was kidnapped by _this_ vampire and re-bonded."

"And how do ya know all _dat?_" Meowth asked, astonished at this sudden display of brilliance.

"There was a fairy-tale book kept in my daddy's library called Otherworld," he answered, closing his eyes and remembering. "Chev always read it to me, and he pointed out whenever he came across references of homunculi. I even had a set of flash cards made, but... they're gone now." James stood and pulled out his pockets to demonstrate. Cards fluttered out, but Pokemon rather than mythical creatures graced them. Phi picked one up and turned it over, examining it.

"I thought you said these were gone?" the little vampire remarked wryly, holding up a picture of a winged, long white-haired bishounen captioned with the words "Winged Vampire". 1

"I didn't realise I still... Ah, but to be that is only my greatest dream," James sighed, attempting to take the card back from her. "Eh?" he whimpered, unsuccessful. "Eh... eh eh eh!" He kept grabbing for it, but to no avail. Jessie rolled her eyes as he snatched at empty air and finally began to cry. "Give it back!"

"So, it's your dream to be a vampire, huh?" Phi intoned. "Let me ask you an important question: _why?_"

"B-because vampires are strong, and winged vampires are like angels," he replied. _But I'll never be like that_...

"Which brings us back to my first question," Jessie said, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Ah, Giovanni asked us to follow you and find out what exactly it is that you're after," Chev explained, returning James' card back to him.

"Yes, all we know so far is that the Pokemon you're chasing is an electric-type and very powerful," Bannette chimed in.

"So what is it?" Phi asked.

"It's a Pikachu," the trio said together. Phi, Chev, and Bannette stared blankly for a moment, then Phi and Bannette roared with laughter. Even the giant Mightyena with them growled humourously.

"It's not funny!" Jessie roared.

"Are you _kidding?_" Phi snickered. "The Boss expects you two, two of the greatest white agents ever, to be busy stealing and you are _screwing around_ with such a common Pokemon... and a 10-year-old probably owns it to boot!"

"Um, actually... " James giggled uneasily.

"Well, it's only da most powaful Pikachu in da woild!" Meowth added somewhat self-consciously.

The voices of the four twerps then echoed through the forest, Ash talking excitedly about his next badge, May and Max arguing amongst themselves, Pikachu voicing its excitement mirroring Ash's, and Brock to ensue... well, some weak sense of order.

"Speak of the devil," Jessie muttered. She leaped out of the bushes separating them from the twerps in a dramatic pose, and began, "Prepare for trouble from the skies!"

James mirrored her, holding a rose close to his face. "From beyond the stars, a nasty surprise!"

As they continued their motto, Chev looked at the Pikachu they had been after for the longest time. "It's like the legend of the red string. I can't see why they're so attached to it. It's like me and... " He stopped short, not wanting to reveal whatever his revelation was in front of his partner.

She, of course, hadn't heard a word he said. She was too busy examining the Pikachu.

_Why do they want it so much? It's just a common rodent_.

"An evil as old as the galaxy... "

"Sent here to – "

"Wait, wait, wait," Phi interrupted, shoving James aside. "That little yellow rat doesn't look any different from the others... but wait! Its memories..."

_Pikachu leaped beside crystal to crystal, determined to escape the merciless Entei's attacks. He lamented to himself that because of the effects of the Unown's pretend world, he might never escape with his best friend._

_He called forth as much of the lightning as he could. He was going to escape the illusion and help the little girl if it was the last thing he did_.

"So... the site of its magnificent exploits was the imaginary world," Phi mumbled. She turned her violet gaze on Pikachu, examining it shrewdly. "Nobody ever escapes from an illusion. You trust me, I know. I've already tried to escape before. I couldn't do it until... well, let's just say it was really f**king hard to get out."

Ash didn't have long to contemplate the "naughty word" before realising something: "Hey, you guys are after Pikachu, aren't you?"

"Well, little brat," Phi answered haughtily, "Your rat conquered the clutches of the Unown with little trouble. That's why I think it would be a worthy opponent to Rose." She swung around, gesturing to the foliage behind her. "Come on out, Rose!"

A giant Mightyena leaped out, followed by little shards of leaves, which fluttered down around it – her.

"Huh?" Max said. "It looks like a Mightyena, but it's way bigger."

"Good eyes, small one. Rose has the blood of a True Beast running through her veins, so she is Dark-type, but also a Child of the Earth." The doll-like girl then motioned to herself. "As am I, being a lycanthrope vampire."

"Wow... " May whispered, half with admiration, half with fear.

"So, are you going to battle me, or are you going to back down?" Phi taunted.

Enraged, Ash replied, "I'm not backing down! If you're part of Team Rocket, you're gonna lose!"

Phi smirked. "Awfully conceited, aren't you, little brat? Well, we'll soon see whether you have reason for it. Chev!" she commanded.

"Yes?"

"Set the mood!"

Chev sighed. "Okay." He raised his voice to announce the battle. "A one-on-one match between Phi's Rose of Team Rocket and the twerp's Pikachu! The first to faint loses!"

"Hey!" Ash complained. "My name is Ash!"

"GO!"

A/N: 1 - This is a reference to Jean-Christophe, an OC in one of my original stories, Vol de Roses. Here's the link to a picture of the series


	4. Chapitre 03

Hey, cool! Finally got another update! Review, please, and tell me how I'm doing!

**Chapitre 03. Gladiatora meets Thunderstorm.**

"GO!" The words rang out in Phi's fuzzy lupine ears and she twitched them, somewhat lusty for blood. Then again, when was she not?

Jessie, James and Meowth watched open-mouthed as their senpai battled. Despite her childlike stature and weird, not to mention foul-mouthed and mysterious ways, she seemed to really know what she was doing!

So said James, anyway.

Jessie smacked him upside the head, somewhat irritated with him, half-jealous of Phi's pwnage of the twerp.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

"Dark Pulse!"

The Bite Pokemon blasted out a massive special attack at her opponent seconds into the battle. Pikachu's Quick Attack was not enough to avoid it, and the rodent was thrown like a rag doll across the field. Ash cried out. "No, Pikachu! Hang in there, buddy!" On the other side of the field, Phi smirked to herself. _Faugh! How weak... a rodent could never even hope to attempt conquering my Rose_.

Pikachu leapt right back up however, determined not to go down without a good fight. "Thundershock, then hit it with a Volt Tackle!"

Phi sought for Rose to avoid it. "Leap, Rose, then respond with Earth Power!"

The Mightyena tried in vain to avoid the powerful shock. She then formed an energy ball, comprised of soil and roots, in one of her forepaws. Pikachu rushed her, entire body lit in lightning, just as she let the energy loose.

The explosion that face-off caused a gigantic cloud of dust to raise up, choking the nearest bystanders – the only one badly affected was Chev.

The poor young man hacked and wheezed, attempting to purge himself of the foreign substance. Once Phi and Ash stopped coughing to return to the battle, the girl Rocket noticed Chev hadn't stopped. Somewhat worried, she rushed to catch him and threw him over her shoulder. "Here, someone take over for Chev!" she cried. "I've got him..."

Brock, astounded as everyone else at the supposedly "little girl's" strength, volunteered. _Were they not listening?_ Phi thought to herself. _I_ just said _that I was a lycanthrope vampire_. "I'll be the referee," he stated seriously.

As Ash was momentarily distracted, this left Phi to muse to herself. _The kid isn't very bright... and the rodent shouldn't be able to harness that much power_. She clicked her tongue. _I see it now_.

"For him a blessing, but us a curse..." she whispered to Chev. _He is the Boss' son and by natural law no Rocket can defeat him! _

_Which is why I must try_.

"Fate!" she commanded, calling out a Houndoom. "Take Chev," she said, draping her motionless partner across its back. "And run to the shack nearest us," she added, her nose twitching. "Jessie and James should be able to help him." She motioned to them, and they, too stunned to respond, followed the sprinting hellhound back to their cabin.

Ash returned his attention to the battle. Miffed that he wasn't winning it so easily as he won most of his battles, he stared attentively at the equally matched Pokemon.

Rose, somewhat battered, panted softly. She engaged in a glaring match with the electric-type mouse before her.

_She's a powerful trainer,_ he admitted grudgingly. _But her offense is her defense. Her Mightyena looks worn_. "Pikachu!" he called. "Finish it with Iron Tail!"

Phi sucked in a small breath. _Rose looks too weak to use an attack_... "See if you can endure it!" she encouraged the dark-type.

Rose was forced to her knees by the attack. She closed her eyes and flattened her ears, struggling to get up. "Rose!" she called worriedly. The lolita Rocket quickly frowned as something inside her snapped. "That's it! No rodent should be able to defeat my Rose! Moonlight now!"

The moon, at that moment, was not full, but was more than enough to suffice for healing the weakened Bite Pokemon. Her body, lit in white by the moon, rose into the air. When Rose did land, she shook off her previous damages like they were nothing.

"A move which cleverly rejuvenates the opponent's Pokemon. Well done, beau–" Brock started.

"Shut it," Phi growled impatiently.

"Uh... okay," he agreed quickly.

"Now, Rose!" she commanded, "Shadow Force."

"Counter it with – hey, where'd it go?" Pikachu looked about, panicked – all it saw were shadows. Ash ground his teeth, unwilling to lose so easily. "Pikachu, Thundershock everywhere!"

The attack came too late. Rose leaped from the shadows, followed by a slew of purple-black ghostly forms, and tackled the Lightning Mouse head on. It tumbled away, beaten, with arrays of damages all over its body. "Chaaa!" it called as it lay defeated in the soil at its opponent's feet.

"How'd it... do that?" May wondered.

"Mightyena shouldn't be able to use Ghost-type attacks!" Max agreed.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" Brock announced. "Rose is the winner."

Phi smiled to herself, off in her own world as she stared down at the rodent that Ash had run over to comfort. _I did it, Chev. I did what no one else could. I broke the curse_.

Raising her head, she announced, "That was an excellent battle, twerp. But I feel you didn't showcase that Pikachu," she motioned to it, "as much as it warranted. I saw how it was... in the imaginary world."

Ash bristled as the vampire continued. "But keep defeating Team Rocket, because while the pain of their defeat is great..."

Pikachu stood and glared suspiciously at Phi. Ash noticed this as well, but decided to hear her out. Her eyes glowed ominously as she stated, "...the pain would be greater if they succeeded."

"Pika... CHUUUUUUUUUU!" The Electric-type let out a massive Thundershock, which hit Phi, Rose, and Bannette.

As they sailed into the blue summer sky, Phi muttered to herself, "Jessie and James had a phrase for this..."

"Wasn't it – " Bannette started. Rose snuffled agitatedly, irritated at the rodent for shocking them.

"Oh yeah. Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Phi and Bannette called out, Rose growling with them.

A distance away, Chev opened his eyes partially, his breathing jagged and irregular. "Phi," he whispered.


End file.
